Understanding the science of selling (I)
Selling is a profession and as in any profession, it takes skill, education, practice and expert knowledge. A true professional sales person does not rely on the roll of the dice or hope and wish he or she has a good month.
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A true professional depends on the knowledge and understanding of facts; on scientific data and laws all applied with learned skill.
If you will learn the facts, the scientific data and the laws that govern your business, and practice and study to learn how to apply this science to your everyday activities; then you will make as much money as you want, write your own paycheck and completely eliminate any risk.
In fact, you can work on a commission (even a 100 per cent commission) and make it more dependable and consistent than if you worked on a monthly salary, as I’ve found many potential salespeople prefer!
The Science of Selling, or SOS, is exactly what it sounds like
It is about understanding the science; the numbers and the data about selling. What follows is a brief explanation of SOS and some tips on how to apply it to your particular sales situation.
The first step to develop an understanding of your SOS is to find out all of the numbers.
• You need to assess all of the statistical data that surrounds your selling situation: your product, sales process, sales cycle or turn-around time and your company or industry.
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• You must find out your sales averages, all the averages: your closing average, the average sales amount, the average sales commissions paid, the average length of time to close a sale, the average number of appointments to make one sale, the average number of calls to set one appointment, the average number of dials to make a call to set an appointment. You need data.
This information should not be too difficult to get as your sales management should have such readily available. If you have a history with the company you are now with, then you should be able to get most of this information from your own records.
If you are new to the company or to selling, then your company should have records and statistics of sales people with the firm in general. The key is that you MUST NOT invent, create or assume these numbers. You must base these figures on facts.
Selling is the most subjective business in the world and you cannot rely on what you think or feel. The amount of prospects you think you saw last week and what you feel is your closing average, will more likely be a lot different the amount of prospects you actually saw and your true closing average.
Once you have this real data then you can begin.
Hypothetical situation – Science of Selling
To best explain the Science of Selling and how you can apply it to your personal situation, let's use a hypothetical sales person we will call, Akosua Simpa.
Akosua works for Agya Koo Nimo & Sons Ltd and after looking over her history, she has gathered all the information on her actual past performance.
Akosua has found that her closing average is 20 per cent or one out of five.
That is, when she counted all of the sales she closed versus all of the prospects she attempted to close, she closed 20 per cent or one out of every five. It took her five sales presentations or demonstrations to make a sale.
Now we know that there were times when Akosua made three or four sales in a row and times when she lost a few sales in a row.
However, over a length of time, Akosua knows that her average is 20 per cent.
Akosua also knows that when she makes a sale, she earns a commission of GH¢400 on the average. Once again, this is her average as sometimes she makes a big sale and earns GH¢1,000 or more and sometimes she only earns GH¢150, but her average is GH¢400.
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It, therefore, takes Akosua FIVE presentations or closing attempts to make one sale, on which she earns GH¢400.
Now, here is an important question: If Akosua makes one sale for every five closing attempts, and she makes GH¢400 for that one sale, then how much does Akosua make for every presentation, every attempt to close?
That is how much Akosua makes for every closing attempt even when the prospect did NOT buy?
Akosua effectively earns one-fifth of theGH¢400 on every closing attempt whether she makes the sale or not. Every time Akosua asks for an order, she earns 1/5 or 20 per cent of the total GH¢400 or GH¢80.
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So, Akosua makes GHS80 every time she closes for the sale, no matter what the outcome!
Conclusion
Next week, we shall continue with how Akosua combines the law of averages and a consistent work ethics to ensure that the Science of Selling delivers consistent sales success.